Another week has come and gone and hopefully you got some things that you wanted to get done — done. As for me well, yes I set out to accomplish small goals that compound into larger goals and overtime they end up turning into something some would call a positive habit.

I set out to conquer the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator a while back. 4 years or so, that is not that long right? Surprisingly enough I can say after successfully creating the worksheets from last week and this week (find the link below in the paragraph about said 5th principle) I think I’m finally grasping how those pesky Bézier curves work. If you think that I’m exaggerating or are a fellow Adobe user who wants some neat browser based practice and you have some spare time give the Pen Tool Game a whirl. On to the meat of the post.

Spencerian principle #5 the Direct Oval. Height, three spaces. Width two spaces, measured at right angles to main slant/ Distance between the two left curves is 1/3 space. The left and right curves should curve equally and are extended variations of principles #2 & #3. Please note that the Direct Oval is used to form four of the majuscules in the alphabet the letters O, E, D, & C.

The Direct Oval is pretty much the same as the majuscule O and is executed by starting one space in and three spaces up from the baseline descending with principle #3 the left curve on the main slant to the baseline, in an oval turn transition into principle #2 the right curve ascending to within 1/4 space to the top where you started; transition again, in an oval turn, into principle #3 the left curve 1/3 space from the first following the same curve, ending 1/3 space above the baseline. Much like principle #4 easier done than said.

Finishing this post up with the Spencerian principle 5 practice sheet I wish you well — happy practicing.